Chapter 20: The Day Three S-Ranks Fought Over Me

“…”

“Seong Ju-an, it was hard to find you. If you’d been at the Center, I would’ve come to escort you myself, but you vanished. Did you decide to make me anxious on purpose?”

“You kidnapped me, and that’s what you’re saying? Why are you suddenly getting anxious anyway?”

Baek Eun-hoo’s gaze lingered on Seong Ju-an’s arm, which was wrapped around Gong Se-yoon’s shoulder.

Just from that, he seemed to grasp the situation, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.

“So the little Gong Se-yoon got swept up already. That’s unfortunate. Looks like he’ll be getting hurt again this time.”

What was he even talking about now?

It would’ve been nice if he spoke plainly, but Baek Eun-hoo always hid his true intentions like that.

With so many shady corners, he probably couldn’t afford to be transparent.

While Seong Ju-an chewed out a curse internally, Gong Se-yoon glared at Baek Eun-hoo and snapped.

“What kind of bullshit are you spouting? If you’re just going to talk nonsense, get out. Now.”

“Already crawled out of your depressive phase? That was fast… unexpectedly so.”

“What does that have to do with anything? Why aren’t you gone yet?”

Despite Gong Se-yoon’s outburst, Baek Eun-hoo merely crossed his arms and chuckled leisurely.

In response, Gong Se-yoon tensed as if he might attack at any moment.

Baek Eun-hoo raised both palms, signaling Se-yoon to calm down.

“Whoa, whoa. Gong Se-yoon, now’s not the time for the two of us to fight. If anything, it’s time to cooperate. I heard you’re also looking for the Creator of Sacrifice, aren’t you curious?”

Like a cat with its fur standing on end, Gong Se-yoon’s raised shoulders dropped instantly at the words “Creator of Sacrifice.”

His widened eyes turned toward Baek Eun-hoo.

“T-the Creator of Sacrifice? Why-did you hear something?”

Baek Eun-hoo jerked his chin toward Se-yoon’s back.

“Why don’t you ask the buffer standing behind you?”

Narrowed eyes shifted toward Ju-an.

His shoulders flinched.

What?

‘Did he already realize that I’m the Creator of Sacrifice?’

Gong Se-yoon suddenly exploded in anger.

“Ju-an, you said you didn’t know anything about the Creator of Sacrifice!”

“Th-that’s right.”

“Then what is Baek Eun-hoo talking about?!”

“Well, that is… I mean…”

At a loss for words, Seong Ju-an hesitated, and yet felt oddly hurt.

‘You’re trusting Baek Eun-hoo over me?’

As if on cue, Baek Eun-hoo cut in.

“Of course he has nothing to say. Because Seong Ju-an is the one who smuggled the Creator of Sacrifice away.”

“What did you just say?”

A chill ran through Gong Se-yoon’s body.

The surrounding temperature steadily dropped, it looked like he was moments away from creating an ice hell.

This needed to be resolved quickly.

“No, Baek Eun-hoo, what kind of slander is that? Does that even make sense? How exactly was I supposed to ‘smuggle away’ a Constellation with no physical form?”

Baek Eun-hoo ignored Ju-an’s question and spoke only to Gong Se-yoon.

“Gong Se-yoon, do you still not get it? This bastard. He’s contracted with the Creator of Sacrifice.”

“Th-that can’t be…”

Horrified, Gong Se-yoon slowly backed away from Seong Ju-an.

Even then, Baek Eun-hoo continued provoking him without pause.

“Think carefully. Since when did the Creator of Sacrifice stop appearing?”

“The Creator of Sacrifice disappeared, and then suddenly Mr. Seong Ju-an showed up… huh?”

“Finally catching on.”

“H-how could you do that to me… Ju-an, how could you deceive me like this?”

From a distance, Gong Se-yoon glared at Seong Ju-an as if he wanted to kill him.

Seeing that he had shifted his position to Baek Eun-hoo’s side, what I felt wasn’t fear, it was hurt.

Is this what they mean when they say raising a kid brings no reward?

No, now’s not the time for thoughts like that.

Both of them were clearly hostile toward him now.

As an S-Rank buffer believed to be contracted with the Creator of Sacrifice, if they demanded he be handed over and attacked together, survival would be unlikely.

‘Where the hell is Mo Jun-young?! If he even mobilized a search team, shouldn’t he have found me by now?’

As Seong Ju-an began looking around frantically for Mo Jun-young, Baek Eun-hoo suddenly twisted his lips into a smile.

“You’d better give up on pointless expectations. A dungeon opened in front of the shopping mall, so Mo Jun-young won’t be able to come. He’ll be busy protecting the civilians.”

At that, Ju-an recalled the announcement Mo Jun-young himself had made earlier.

A dungeon had opened in front of the mall, and high-ranking Awakeners were needed.

A shiver ran through his entire body.

Dungeons don’t open without reason.

If one appeared while the system was stable, it meant someone deliberately used a Constellation to create a dungeon that shouldn’t exist.

And that someone, with a motive, had to be Baek Eun-hoo.

It was enough to drive anyone insane.

No matter how annoying Mo Jun-young could be, using innocent civilians as collateral for his ambition was beyond unforgivable.

Seong Ju-an trembled with rage at Baek Eun-hoo’s cruelty.

He clenched his fists and glared at him.

But Baek Eun-hoo spoke in his usual unhurried tone.

“Such passion.”

What the hell was passionate about this?

“Still, don’t you think that kind of look is inappropriate when there are others around? If you want to go somewhere with just the two of us, I’ll personally take you.”

“In a situation like this, you feel like joking? Either way, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m definitely not going with you, Baek Eun-hoo.”

At that, Baek Eun-hoo burst into loud laughter.

After glaring at him with everything he had, being laughed at made Ju-an feel like a day-old puppy facing a tiger.

When Baek Eun-hoo stopped laughing, he continued.

“Even if not right now, you’ll be seeing me often.”

That part was true.

This world didn’t have only solo dungeons, so living as an Awakener meant they’d inevitably cross paths.

Still, he wanted to avoid being alone in the same space as Baek Eun-hoo.

Just thinking about it made his skin crawl, and he shook his head, when suddenly his entire body began to heat up.

What was happening?

The surrounding temperature had been icy from Gong Se-yoon’s cold aura, so why heat now?

Heat… wait- don’t tell me!

Boom! KRAAASH!

A massive explosion echoed, followed by a voice crying out in pain.

“Seong Ju-an!”

Turning toward the sound, he saw Joo Ji-chan standing at the restroom entrance, engulfed in raging flames.

The energy radiating from him was overwhelming.

Was it because the Kiss buff lasted twenty-four hours, meaning its effects were still active?

If so, at this moment, the only person strong enough to fight Baek Eun-hoo, and someone he could entrust his life to, was Joo Ji-chan.

“P-please save me!”

He shouted with all his strength and rushed toward him, only for his nape to be grabbed.

Gong Se-yoon glared at him with eyes dripping cold.

“Where do you think you’re going? I told you to stay right by my side. Was that a lie too?”

“N-no, back then you were on my side. You aren’t anymore. If I get hit by even one wrong attack, I’ll die, how am I supposed to stay still?!”

As expected, Gong Se-yoon had no intention of letting go.

His grip tightened.

“How can you say I’m not on your side? That’s cruel.”

Struggling desperately to live, Ju-an stretched his arm toward Joo Ji-chan.

“What are you doing?! Hurry- save me!”

Gong Se-yoon chuckled.

“It’s pointless. I’m in a Highly Active state right now. Don’t you know I’m stronger?”

Baek Eun-hoo stepped in to stop him.

“No. That guy’s got Seong Ju-an’s buff right now, his stats are tripled. Even if you and I fight together, we can’t win.”

“Ji-chan! Please- just…”

At Ju-an’s shout, Joo Ji-chan, who had been spewing flames, stepped inside the restroom.

A wave of heat surged in, hot enough to melt flesh.

“Gong Se-yoon, since you heard Baek Eun-hoo, why don’t you let go quietly? I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

‘Yes, yes, good job, Ji-chan. I don’t know what you’re in a hurry for, but please just take me with you.’

Gong Se-yoon refused to release Ju-an, as if it wasn’t worth responding, and Baek Eun-hoo answered instead.

“Why is the Apostle of Justice, Joo Ji-chan, here instead of rescuing people? It must be noisy outside.”

True, that was strange.

Joo Ji-chan wouldn’t ignore civilians.

“I already finished everything out there. So unless you’re planning to fight here again, hand him over. Director Mo Jun-young will be here soon anyway, fighting now is pointless!”

Having already experienced Joo Ji-chan’s power, Baek Eun-hoo fell silent.

Only Gong Se-yoon remained on guard, like a cat with its fur bristling.

Joo Ji-chan sneered at him.

“Haha, kid, hyung doesn’t want to hurt you- ugh!”

Gong Se-yoon’s skill, Cold Blade, flew toward Joo Ji-chan and embedded itself in the wall beside him.

It was such a sharp attack that, had Ji-chan’s evasion not been high, it would’ve caused severe injury.

Admiring the sheer attack power only briefly, an enraged Joo Ji-chan lashed out with his foot toward Gong Se-yoon, who had dared to use a skill.

The tiled wall collapsed like a sandcastle.

Gong Se-yoon’s eyes went wide.

“H-how… You didn’t even use a skill…”

It was only natural to be shocked.

Joo Ji-chan, who primarily fought with flame skills, had displayed overwhelming physical strength without using one.

This seemed like a good time to step in.

“Ji-chan currently has a triple buff, so if you fight, you’re the only one who’ll lose. Luckily, Se-yoon seems to have held back on using skills, so please give up and let go.”

“No. Even if I die, I can’t let go. I-I care about Ju-an, no-about the Creator of Sacrifice, too much to-”

Gong Se-yoon trembled violently, shaking Ju-an’s body like a paper doll.

“If you won’t hand him over peacefully, then I have no choice.”

While Gong Se-yoon was distracted by his tears, Joo Ji-chan lunged forward and wrapped an arm around Seong Ju-an’s waist.

For a moment, it felt like his body might be torn in half as the two Hunters pulled at him, but miraculously, Gong Se-yoon’s grip loosened, and he survived.

‘Whew, thank goodness. Gong Se-yoon, you’re kinder than you look. You said you’d never let go even if you died, did you just not want me to die?’

With Seong Ju-an tucked under his arm, Joo Ji-chan began running at an incredible speed.

No, rather than running, it felt like flying through the air.

Dizziness hit him, nausea rising, and the heat was so intense his skin stung.

‘Where am I going?’

There was no time to even feel anxious amid the whirlwind of events.